Victory usually stems from preparation

Victory usually stems from preparation
                        

The evidence collected over more than 45 years on the sports beat doesn’t lie. The data confirms reporters will indeed ask the same questions over and over again.

And for the most part, the athletes and coaches with cameras or cell-phone recorders shoved in their faces will spew out responses that hail from a full repertoire of humdrum stock answers.

This is especially true of those most in demand during their most demanding moments: a batter approaching a Major League milestone, an Olympian facing his or her last-ditch opportunity to claim precious gold and a golfer standing over a putt that, if that dimpled, little white ball drops into the cup, will result in a green jacket presentation in Butler Cabin.

“How do you handle the pressure?”

Though seemingly mundane, the question — often followed by eye-rolls — still begs to be asked. For on the rarest of occasions, the common ice-breaker might actually provoke a noteworthy reply, something that will be used on-air or in the lead sentence of a newspaper feature story.

Take, for example, the plight of a celebrated quarterback still in search of his first Super Bowl ring, a proven star, a man shouldering most of the load for his Indianapolis Colts with a career-defining outcome hanging precariously in the balance.

“Well, let me tell you about that,” Peyton Manning recalled of his days prior to stepping onto the Dolphin Stadium field against the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. “Pressure is what you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Write that down, folks, in permanent ink.

Obviously Manning knew what he was doing that rainy Feb. 4, 2007, when the Tony Dungy-coached Colts rallied from a 14-6 first-quarter deficit to stump Lovie Smith’s Bears, 29-17, for Indianapolis’ first NFL championship since “Stupor Bowl V” in Miami’s Orange Bowl stadium (Colts 16, Cowboys 13, Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley named MVP, Colts then from Baltimore).

Manning was named the game's Most Valuable Player, completing 25-of-38 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown with one interception for a passer rating of 81.8. The Colts forced five turnovers including cornerback Kelvin Hayden's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown. Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri booted three field goals.

Pressure? The Colts' first trip to the Super Bowl in 36 years set a record for longest time between appearances by a team. The CBS broadcast of the game was watched by an estimated average of 93.2 million viewers, making it, at the time, the fifth most-watched program in U.S. television history. (The halftime show, headlined by the musician Prince, peaked at 140 million television viewers.)

Yet there was Manning, performing as though “Rocky Top” was being piped into his helmet or something. Former Colts and Dolphins head coach Don Shula presented the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Colts’ brass after the victory.

Always confident, yet anything but brash or cocky, Manning left an indelible memory with that quote of his. Not only did he teach me not to avoid asking over-asked questions, he delivered a shrewd message that, to this day, remains invaluable to anyone, young or old, who aspires to achieve success.

Prepare. Prepare. Prepare.

Kick pressure to the outhouse.

Manning’s lasting lesson is one I’ve often relayed to other athletes and coaches I’ve interviewed — some obviously more famous than others. And even better yet, student-athletes I’ve coached have heard the story, fellow workers too, many who have dealt with the pressure of meeting a late-night deadline under public scrutiny and challenging circumstances or mentoring a teen whose family life is such that you wouldn’t wish it on your nastiest adversary.

There again, the evidence doesn’t lie. Know what you are doing.


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